About Anna Cozzens

She was a member of an old distinguished family descended from Roger Mowry, who had emigrated from England to Boston in 1631, but had settled in Smithfield, (part of Providence,) Rhode Island. Roger, who was elected town constable, also ran a tavern which served as a meeting place for the local government, and the jail, but was also used for church on Sunday. Legend has it that the tavern was one of only five buildings in the town not burned by the Indians during the King Phillip’s War (1675-6). The structure was left unharmed because Roger Williams, founder of the Colony, who was friendly with the Indians, held his religious services there.